Brace Yourself by Enigmaticblue

Summary: In the sequel to Collide, there are unexpected consequences to the ritual Buffy did to break the curse on Spike, Dawn is trying to figure out what it means to be the Key, and Willow is coming home. And that's just the beginning.

Chapter 12: No Place Like Home

"As I row, row, row/Going so slow, slow, slow/Just down below me is the old sea...Nobody knows, knows, knows/So many things, things, so/So out of range/Sometimes so strange/Sometimes so sweet/Sometimes so lonely/The further I go/More letters from home never arrive/And I'm alone/All of the way/All of the way/Alone and alive/You just have to go, go, go/Where I don't know, know, know/This is the thing/Somebody said/Somebody told me/A long time ago." ~Patty Griffin, "Rowing Song"

"The stars are so bright here," Dawn said, staring at the sky through the tree branches.

The air was chilly, but the fire took care of the worst of the cold, and she wasn't terribly uncomfortable. Besides, with Bracken right next to her, Dawn felt safe enough to relax.

Strange that she could trust him, since she'd only just met him.

"Are they not as bright where you're from?" Bracken asked.

"No. The lights from the cities kind of block it out, so you can only see the brightest ones, and even those don't look as shiny." She glanced over at him. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course." His teeth flashed in a grin. "I've asked you many."

She returned his smile. "Why aren't you scared of me? You said that there are others who wouldn't want me here."

Bracken waved a hand, as though to minimize his bravery. "You remind me of my sister."

Dawn made a face. "Is that a good thing?"

He chuckled. "Since she's my favorite sibling, yes." Bracken was silent for a long moment. "I also knew that you meant no harm. It's not your fault that there were others before you who came and changed everything."

"Do you not like the change?" Dawn asked.

Bracken sighed. "It's different now. My father fought with the rebellion, so he wanted freedom. I was almost old enough to fight when the strangers ended the war. I understand that this is better, but it's also harder for some. Having freedom, after being a slave, isn't easy."

"You were a slave?" Dawn asked.

"We all were."

The silence stretched between them, although it wasn't uncomfortable. She yawned widely into the darkness. "Sorry."

"You should sleep," Bracken said. "I can keep watch."

Dawn hesitated. "Are you sure?"

He sat up, looking down at her, the firelight causing his skin and eyes to take on a golden hue. "I've done it before."

She curled up a little closer to the fire, letting its warmth wash over her, and felt herself slipping down into sleep. Dawn's final thought was of Buffy, hoping that her sister wouldn't worry too much.

~~~~~

Buffy found it impossible to sit still, and so she was pacing the length of the living room as Tara explained her suspicions regarding Dawn's powers. "Doesn't being the Key make the energy nearly inexhaustible?" she asked. "I mean, that's what Rack seemed to think."

"Dawn wasn't doing the work," Tara said patiently. "Any kind of magic, even what Dawn's doing with opening doors, takes work."

"I've been there, Buffy," Willow said. "It's not surprising that Dawn wouldn't be able to open a portal back right away."

"Why didn't I know this before?" she demanded. "Maybe Dawn would have waited for us if she'd known."

"Or maybe she didn't feel like she had a choice," Spike said quietly. "She might have felt too threatened to wait."

"Damn it." Buffy didn't want to be logical; she wanted to go insane with worry. If anything happened to Dawn... "There really isn't anything we can do?"

Tara shook her head. "I'm sorry, Buffy."

"I wish I could do something," Willow added, "but there's no way of knowing where Dawn might be."

Buffy nodded wearily. "Thanks, guys. I guess we'll just have to hope that Dawn can get herself home."

Tara and Willow left soon after, and Buffy could see that the mood between them was tense and uncomfortable. She didn't really expect that it would get easier any time soon, either.

"I think I'm going to go to bed," Giles said. "Let me know if there's anything I can do."

Buffy nodded. "Thanks, Giles." She had called Xander and Anya earlier to tell them they could leave, knowing that if Dawn did show up at the Magic Box, she could always call. That left her with Spike, and she allowed him to wrap his arms around her, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I hate this."

"I know. I do, too."

She just let him hold her; Spike was one of the few people that she would allow to see her weakness, as well as her strength. Everyone else seemed to expect her to be strong all the time, but not Spike. It was one of the reasons she trusted him so much.

"I've been thinking about getting the chip out," Spike said quietly.

Buffy pulled back, staring at him. "What?"

"I've been thinking about getting the chip out," he repeated. "Ray, Rack, the Council gits—they're all human, Buffy. How the bloody hell am I supposed to protect you or the baby with this thing in my head?"

Buffy stepped away from him. "I can take care of myself."

"And the baby?" Spike pressed. "Buffy, I need to know that I can protect you an' the kid. It's not just this time around. You don't know when the next bad guy's goin' to be human, like those nerds."

She didn't know what to say. Buffy didn't want to refuse outright; she trusted Spike—with or without the chip. On the other hand, now didn't seem like the best time to have someone rummaging around in Spike's brain. What if something went wrong?

"Is now really the best time?" she finally asked. "I'm not saying you're wrong, Spike. It's just that if you did this, you might not be around when we do need you."

Spike's eyes searched her face. "You'd trust me to do it?"

"Of course," Buffy said impatiently. "I know you. You're not going to do anything that would make me stake you."

His expression softened. "Yeah. Long as you trust me, I think I can wait. Clem's on the lookout for a doctor that might be able to help, but there's no guarantee I'm goin' to find one, and I wouldn't do it unless it meant you were safer."

"I know," Buffy said. "But right now, I need you too much to lose you, Spike."

"You're not goin' to lose me," he assured her. "But it's going to get done, one way or another, Buffy. This is important, an' it's gonna get more so as time goes by."

She nodded. "Let me know what Clem finds out. Once we find Dawn, we'll have room to breathe, and we can focus on taking care of the chip."

Spike's eyes seemed to search her face. "You're really okay with this?"

Buffy took a deep breath. "When I decided to be with you, it was with the understanding that the chip might fail at some point. I told you, Spike. I trust you."

"Thank you." The words were heartfelt, and Buffy allowed herself to be drawn into his embrace once more, although her mind was still on Dawn, and where she might be, and anything they could do to get her back.

Buffy had a feeling that she wouldn't be thinking of anything else until Dawn was home.

~~~~~

Xander wasn't sure how they got there, but somehow he and Anya had ended up in her bed.

Okay, so he knew exactly what had happened; he had offered to give her a ride home after Buffy called the Magic Box, then she had invited him inside for a drink, and one thing had led to another. Even though he knew that it was probably a mistake, Xander couldn't regret it.

It felt too damn good.

"We probably shouldn't have done this," Anya commented, seeming to read his thoughts.

Xander sighed. "I know. I'm not sorry about it."

She turned her head to look at him. "What are we doing, Xander?"

He propped himself up on his elbow. "I don't know. I just know that I don't want to live without you. I love you, Anya."

Anya looked away, her eyes troubled. "But what are we doing?" she repeated. "I know that you love me. I love you, too. That's not always enough."

"Why don't we get married?" he asked.

She stared at him. "I thought you didn't want to get married."

"I was scared," he admitted. "I didn't know what it would mean for us."

Anya frowned. "Nothing has changed."

"Everything changed," Xander objected. "Look, Anya, it was stupid to break up with you. All the wedding plans and everything, and the idea that we'd be together forever—I got scared."

"And now you're not scared?" she asked suspiciously.

Xander hesitated, unsure of how to explain that he'd been scared to death of their marriage ending up like his parents' had, that he hadn't been sure he could spend the rest of his life with one person. He would much rather face the prospect of spending his life with Anya than without her, however.

"Not of marriage," he replied. "I'm just scared of losing you."

Anya made a face. "So, we plan another wedding?"

"Can't we just elope?" Xander asked plaintively. "We could have a reception afterwards."

Something in Anya's eyes changed. "You want to elope? When?"

"After Dawn comes back?" he suggested. "We could go to Las Vegas, take a long weekend. With Giles in town, you wouldn't have to worry about getting someone to take care of the Magic Box. We could plan a real honeymoon for later."

"I'll think about it," Anya said.

Xander was a little disappointed that he didn't get an immediate yes, but he figured it was only fair, since he was the one who had backed out the first time around. "Okay."

Anya raised an eyebrow. "That's it? You're not going to try and convince me?"

"What—" Xander suddenly figured out what she was talking about; multiple orgasms had always helped Anya make up her mind. "I can do that."

~~~~~

"I feel like this is my fault," Willow said.

Tara wasn't quite sure how to respond. Her apartment was on the way to Xander's, which was why she and Willow were walking together. As uncomfortable as it was to be alone with her ex-girlfriend, it was still probably better than insisting on walking by herself, which would lead to a different sort of awkwardness.

"How would it be your fault?" she finally asked.

Willow's expression was rueful. "I was the one who was responsible for Rack noticing Dawn in the first place."

Tara couldn't argue, but she didn't think it was quite that simple. "You don't know that someone else wouldn't have found out," she observed. "And it still might turn out for the best. What if we needed Dawn's gift, but didn't know she could open a portal?"

Willow didn't look convinced, and reluctantly said, "Maybe."

Tara lapsed into silence; she had no idea how to talk to Willow these days, even though there had been a time when it seemed as though they would never run out of things to say. They reached the corner where Willow had to turn in another direction, and Tara half-expected Willow to ask if she wanted to hang out.

Instead, Willow met her eyes, sorrow and love evident in her expression. "I know we're never going to be able to go back to where we were; I don't expect that," Willow said, adding, "But do you think we can be friends?"

Tara was no expert on what happened after you broke up with someone, particularly when you were expected to spend time with them. "I don't know," she admitted. "I'd like to be friends, Willow, but..."

Willow nodded. "Yeah. Okay. I'll probably see you tomorrow."

"Probably," Tara replied helplessly, watching as Willow walked away. She walked the last two blocks to her apartment at a brisk pace, blinking the tears back impatiently. Tara couldn't help still mourning the loss of their relationship; she'd believed that Willow was the only one for her, and the loss of that assurance stung.

Tara managed to hold back the tears until she got into her apartment, and then she could do so no longer. She leaned against the door, wiping at her eyes ineffectually, trying to stem the flow.

She might have stood there forever, but a furry head butted her ankle impatiently. "Mrrrow!"

"Oh, Merlin," Tara said, laughing through her tears. "I'm sorry. You're probably starving." She picked him up, heading into the tiny kitchen to grab a can of cat food. "I'm being stupid," she confided.

Merlin just purred, rubbing his head against her chin.

"It's a good thing I have you," Tara said. "I think I'd be tempted to wallow otherwise."

"Mew," Merlin agreed, then increased the volume of his purring as soon as he saw the can of cat food.

Tara fed him, then sighed. "I wonder how on earth Spike knew I'd need you," she mused, stroking his soft fur as he devoured his dinner.

Merlin ignored her in favor of his food.

Tara leaned her head back against the cabinet from her spot on the floor next to the kitten, wondering when it was going to get easier, or if it ever would.

~~~~~

Dawn's eyes snapped open as she felt a hand come down over her mouth. Bracken put a finger to his lips, and she nodded, waiting until he'd pulled his hand away to whisper, "What is it?"

"There are people coming," he said. "You have to hide."

Dawn frowned. "What about you?"

Bracken gave her a tight smile. "Better they find me than you, and they know that someone is here." Dawn opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off impatiently. "There's no time."

Dawn decided to defer to his judgment, at least until she had the chance to see what the odds against them were. Bracken hurried her over to one of the nearby trees and boosted her up onto the lowest branch. "Keep going up," he ordered. "Don't come down, no matter what happens."

She nodded but didn't promise, then started climbing. The dim light of early morning was enough to see by, allowing her to locate the best places to put her hands and feet. When she stopped, Dawn made sure that no one would be able to see her from below, but that she could see Bracken in the clearing below as he stoked the fire.

Dawn watched as he went about his business, as though he hadn't a care in the world. He'd been scared, that much had been obvious from his expression, and Dawn had no idea what was coming, or what she could do about it.

She really wished she had her knife with her.

"What have we here?"

The rough voice echoed, and Dawn knew that this was one person who didn't care if anybody heard him. She clung to the trunk as four men walked into the clearing. "Andrus," Bracken said.

"You don't have anything more to say to your big brother?" Andrus asked.

Dawn's eyes widened. If that was Bracken's brother, why had he been so worried about them seeing her?

"What else can I say?" Bracken asked.

"You might have brought me something," Andrus replied. "You haven't been hunting?"

Bracken shrugged. "I haven't had any luck."

Andrus shook his head. "You never were any good at men's work. You should be home in the kitchen with Mother. Perhaps you'll find a girl who doesn't mind your weakness."

Dawn raised an eyebrow at that, wishing she could tell the jerk exactly how not weak Bracken was, but she kept her mouth shut, beginning to understand why Bracken had been so worried.

"Perhaps," Bracken said, not sounding all that bothered.

One of the men with Andrus elbowed him. "I thought you said we'd find food or sport."

"That would depend on Bracken," Andrus replied, turning to his brother. "What's it going to be? Food or sport?"

Dawn couldn't see Bracken's expression from her vantage point, but she heard the tension in his voice. "I have no food for you, Andrus. I brought nothing with me."

"Then it must be sport," another man said with a cruel smile. "We'll find our food elsewhere."

Andrus was the first to strike, and Dawn was appalled to see that Bracken didn't even attempt to fight back. He sheltered himself as best he could, but he was no match for the four men, all of whom were as big or bigger than him.

She wanted to help; Dawn wanted to rescue him as he had rescued her, but she knew that allowing them to see her would only result in badness. Their definition of "sport" was probably what Ray had had in mind before Bracken had killed him.

After the first couple of seconds, Dawn squeezed her eyes closed, leaning her forehead against the tree truck, wishing that she could shut out the sounds just as easily.

"Get home now, little brother," Andrus said finally. "If you tell father this time, I'll make sure you don't live to regret it."

Dawn waited until she was certain that they were gone before scrambling down the tree to Bracken's side. "Bracken?" she whispered, worried that the men might still be nearby. She needed to get them out of this place.

"Dawn?" Bracken cracked one half-swollen eyelid. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but you're not," she said. "I need to get you out of here."

"I'll be fine," he replied. "This is not the first time. Although, it might be the worst," he added, struggling to sit up.

Dawn shook her head vehemently. "You can't stay here, Bracken. How are you going to get home?"

His eyes were solemn. "Where else would I go?"

"Come with me," Dawn said. "At least until you heal. You could always come back here if you decide you want to, but you need a doctor."

Bracken began to shake his head. "Dawn, there's no room in your world for me."

"How do you know?" she demanded. "You saved me. My sister and Spike would really like you for that alone." Dawn touched his shoulder. "What if they come back?"

"They're hungry; they won't be back today." Bracken looked troubled at that thought, however. "The man who tried to hurt you," he said slowly. "There are more like him?"

Dawn shrugged. "It seems like there's always somebody out to get me. My sister is the Slayer."

"I don't know what that means," Bracken replied. Dawn could tell that he was softening. "I could come back here?"

Dawn hesitated, knowing that she had to be truthful. "I think so," she said reluctantly. "I've been here now, so it should be easier."

Bracken took a deep breath. "Then I will go with you, if you promise to open a door for me if I am in the way."

"You won't be in the way," Dawn said impatiently. Then, seeing the stubborn tilt of his chin, she sighed. "I promise."

"What do you need to open this door? My knife?"

Dawn nodded. "That would be good." She took the knife that he handed her, noting that he'd hidden it inside his boot before his brother had shown up. "That was really your brother? Is he one of the people who isn't happy about the way things are?"

Bracken shook his head. "He's a bandit, but because he provides food for our table, he's a hero."

Dawn didn't ask what Bracken was; she had a feeling that Andrus' comments told her everything that she needed to know. "Be ready to go," she warned him.

She muttered a quick prayer that it would work this time to anyone or anything that might be listening and inclined to help, and then Dawn took a deep breath, centering herself. Picturing the training room of the Magic Box in her mind, she focused on going home.

That's all she wanted, was to go home.

A quick jerk of the knife had a thin line of blood welling on her left index finger, reopening the same cut that she'd made the other day. This time, Dawn could feel the energy, could see the swirl of light as the portal opened.

Dawn stood quickly, pulling Bracken's arm over her shoulder. "Come on."

He went willingly enough, and she wondered at his bravery once again. It wasn't just anybody who would accompany a virtual stranger to another world. On the other hand, maybe any place would be better than the one he was leaving, and Dawn was pretty sure she could get him home again.

"Bracken!"

Dawn sent a panicked look over her shoulder. "Shit. Not again," she muttered, pulling Bracken with her as quickly as possible. As soon as their feet hit the wooden floor of the training room, Dawn let him go, whirling to close the portal before they were followed. "Shit, shit, shit."

To her immense relief, the portal swirled and closed, blinking out of existence, as though it had never been.

"Dawn?"

She turned to see Giles standing in the doorway of the training room, staring at her and Bracken. "Hey, Giles."

"Are you okay?" he asked quickly.

Dawn nodded, sticking her cut finger in her mouth to stop the bleeding. "I'm great. Hungry, but good. Bracken needs a doctor, though."

Giles raised an eyebrow, but maintained an impressive calm. "Of course. We can call your sister from the hospital." He made his way to Bracken's side, supporting him on the right, even as Dawn took the left. "I'm Giles. It's nice to make your acquaintance."

Dawn bit back a grin, amused at the Watcher's politeness, and extremely thankful that he was willing to refrain from asking a bunch of questions. After all, Buffy was probably going to ask the same ones, and Dawn didn't want to tell her story more than once.